Honoring the President; what holiday?

Another holiday – President’s Day – has come and gone. Yet I doubt many of us noticed a thing.

Monday was supposed to be the day we paid tribute to the many men (not quite four dozen) who have served as U.S. president during our nation’s history. But I wonder how many of us worked our way through the day.

OR IF WE had the kind of government-related post where work actually shut down for the day, did we just waste it away sitting in front of a television set watching whatever mindless junk happened to be on for our viewing?

Personally, about the most impact the day had upon me was the fact that there was no mail delivery. Not that I was expecting anything of significance. Although I did notice one of my neighbors got a package delivery; courtesy of United Parcel Service.

I don’t think many of us gave a thought to those people who have served our nation with the ultimate ego-boost of a political position – that of president of the United States.

As in the guy who in theory is in charge of the country (and often is referred to as “the most powerful man in the world”), but whom we often see can easily be thwarted by Congress and the Supreme Court.

PERSONALLY, I WOULDN’T have the ambition to run for president – I’d feel like I had to make too many ideological concessions to have any chance of getting a significant number of votes.

Plus I’d have to kiss way too many behinds to come up with the kind of campaign cash it takes to run a credible electoral effort. Personally, I don’t see the point of running for political office if one is only capable of taking 1 percent or so of the vote.

So what should we think of the men who have made the effort to be the chief executive of U.S. government? It’s a thankless job, and one that probably draws way too much hostility and abuse from the opposition.

And there’s always opposition! Someone is always going to think you are wrong. And someone is always going to think that the world would be better off without you in it – even if they don’t have the nerve or intelligence to carry out such insane thoughts!

PERHAPS THE CONCEPT of a President’s Day (instead of the old-fashioned notion of celebrating the birth of George Washington – the first president) isn’t the most absurd holiday we offer.

It’s more practical than trying to honor all 43 men who have held the office (and you just know some people would go out of their way to ignore the holidays of those presidents they want to disrespect.

It reminds me of an old “The West Wing” episode where actress Allison Janney’s “C.J. Cregg” character was appalled to learn of a religious group that devoted a day to its members praying for her soul – because they were convinced that as a Democrat who sided with liberal causes, she was going to Hell.

Most people, however, aren’t willing to put that much thought into the day. In fact, I really believe most people let Monday pass by without any thought.

IT WAS A day for retailers to hold weekend-long sales – the one that caught my attention was held by the Guitar Center chain. Fifteen percent off selected items, and it was possible to get a Stratocaster make of guitar for $99.

No, I didn’t go out and buy a discount guitar on Monday. Or a new mattress or sofa or even a car (the latter of which I could use these days). I didn’t give in to commercialism on this day where we’re supposed to honor the concept of our government – although not as intensely as we do on Independence or Memorial days.

Although I have to admit what I actually did do during the morning hours isn’t something I’m proud of – I watched the one-millionth (or so it seems like) airing of the Sandra Bullock film “Miss Congeniality,” a film I'd never seen before, where the attractive actress has to play the part of a frumpy FBI agent who has to disguise herself as a beauty queen to undermine a plot to disrupt the “Miss United States” pageant.

So what’s my punishment for wasting away a federal holiday morning – perhaps I should have to sit through several hours of tapes of George W. Bush’s incomprehensible presidential rhetoric without actor Will Ferrell to translate?

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I’d rather see a rancorous debate about politics and presidents than glee over a sale

I’d like to think that all across the nation, the people who comprise our society are using Monday to ponder the greatness of the United States, specifically the role that individuals who devote their lives to public service can play in bolstering this country.

For Monday is the day we honor the individuals who have managed to get themselves elected Commander of Chief (and no, I’m not including Geena Davis, although maybe I’ll spend part of the day watching a DVD I own of episodes from that now-defunct television drama). Many of us think this is the day for George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and whichever other former president fits our ideological belief pattern.

IT OUGHT TO be. But the sad reality is that it really isn’t.

I get the sense that more people are thinking of Presidents’ Day, if at all, as a chance to go shopping.

James A. Garfield's assassination caused engraver J.A.J. Wilcox to elevate his presidency to the levels of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in this 1884 illustration. Some people were quick to try to elevate Barack Obama to that same level shortly after his 2008 election.

I see the advertising inserts in my Sunday newspapers telling me I can save up to 60 percent if I enjoy “the magic of Macy’s,” while the Carson Pirie Scott ads make it seem like a dueling holiday contest between Sunday’s Valentine’s Day and Monday’s Presidents’ Day sale.

Coupons for 25 percent off! Wow. Somehow, I doubt this was what the “founding fathers” had in mind when they devoted their lives to breaking the British colonies on the North American continent away into their own country.

I ALSO AM skeptical that all the immigrants who made their travels to this land for a better life did so so that we could enjoy a “free comforter” if we show up at a Serta store and buy a queen- or king-sized mattress.

Then again, maybe they would have appreciated a comfortable night’s sleep after a long 12-hour (or more) day of work?

Excuse me for saying that I don’t get it. Why should this holiday be any kind of excuse for shopping? The Last place I would ever want to spend any time at if I had a day off is at a shopping mall.

There will be people with days off aside from schoolchildren.

BANKS WILL BE closed (so you’d better have your credit cards in working order, or else!), along with libraries and many government offices. That includes the post office, which means no mail on Monday (which may be the one good thing, since it means no new bills arriving – at least not until Tuesday).

I feel like we’re being told that our “patriotic” duty is to go shopping, and that we’re letting our country down by not rushing out to the Staples sale of $200 off a Compaq laptop (only $349.98!). Too bad I broke down and bought my laptop two months ago.

With all the advertising fliers, I feel like this is a second round of Christmas – except that the prevailing colors are red, white and blue instead of red and green.

Part of it is a “guy” thing. I would rather not be told it is my duty to shop. The idea of people being pushed into commercial activity just strikes me as being trivial. And the part of me that was usually the only one in my elementary school classes who actually found history lessons to be interesting is a bit bothered at the thought that this particular holiday has gained trivial elements.

WE HAVE LOTS of holidays meant to pay tribute to the concept of the United States as an ideal of Democracy on Planet Earth. The big one is Independence Day, with some attention paid to Memorial Day (the soldiers who were killed while trying to defend the concept of Democracy).

I’d like to think that Presidents’ Day could be the civilian alternative to Memorial Day (or Veterans Day) – when we honor those officials who won their influence through the ballot box (ultimately, that means the people) rather than on a battlefield.

And yes, I know that Washington got to be President Number One for this nation because of his activity on the battlefield in winning this nation independence.

But it ought to be the day that we celebrate the men (someday, most likely in our lifetimes, there will be women as well) who devoted the time to get elected, then gave four (or eight, unless you’re Franklin D. Roosevelt) years of their lives to try to make this country a better place.

I’M SURE THAT kind of mental activity has the potential to stir up some serious arguments.

Because most people perceive Presidents’ Day as the federal holiday upon which we honor the birthdays of Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and usually try to come up with a third former chief executive to make the date a trio.

John Kennedy or Ronald Reagan? FDR or distant cousin Teddy? How many people will already want to start talking up Barack Obama? Or will want to be sarcastic and try to include Gerald Ford (would comedian Chevy Chase have had as much of a career without those Ford “impersonations” that caught the mood of the nation in the mid-1970s but now seem ever so pointless?) into the mix.

Somehow, such debate strikes me as much more encouraging for our society than the thought that many of us are headed shopping – even if Kmart has Fruit of the Loom “rugged collection” boxer shorts on sale for $8.99.

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